Losing hope...

Nutshell:
Most of my life I thought I was fat even though I was gorgeous size 9 and if I could go back and time and smack that girl that thought she was fat I would. I gained weight once when I was 20 or so and lost it with Atkins(30lbs 3 months simple). I got married, then divorced, and at my largest I was 199lbs.

Dec 2007 I decided to start Jenny and lost about 20 of those lbs and since then I hover between 164-170. I have not been able to get below 164 since about 2004. Over the last 3 years I have kept most of the weight off with exercise every now and again and eating generally healthy.

I have decided I want to get below my 164lbs and here begins a new journey with a goal weight of around 150lbs.

I currently weight 168. I started Atkins at about 170 about 2 1/2-3 weeks ago and last week I weighed 167.6 and now I weigh 168.8 as of this morning. I have been in ketosis the whole time and haven't cheated.

I am just so frustrated with the 1lb gain! I have been using some light weights when I work out, but a gain! I would be fine w/ staying the same, but the gain killed me this morning. I don't eat more than about 1600 calories a day and no more than 20 carbs a day during the induction. I didn't do anything crazy or cheat for this gain. Overall it has really left me feeling horribly disappointed and let down. Like I will never ever see 150lbs.

EDIT:
I also track all my food with the my fitness pal website.

I am not unhappy with the way I look now, but I feel like my body wants to stay at this weight range and it is fighting me big time to drop below it. I just for once want to look in a mirror and say wow I look skinny again. (well me skinny not crazy super model skinny)

If you've been doing extra exercise, that's likely the cause of your weight gain. Your body stores water weight for a little while after weight training; the extra fluid is part of how your body copes with building and rebuilding muscle.

I can pretty much count on as much as an extra pound the day after I lift weights, especially if I was extra zealous about it. Your body may do something similar. Believe me, I can empathize with your disappointment; the first time I saw this happening, I was miserable until I realized that the exercise was just causing some brief water weight gain.

Every body is different, but it seems unlikely that you'd actually gain weight during ketosis. You sound like you're doing such a good job; keep it up and your body will have no choice but to stop being a pain in the *** and get with the program.

Drinking all your water? 64 ounces a day? I hate water. It might flush whatever's holding on outta there! Don't give, up. You will lose the weight if you stay on the 1972 Induction Plan. google it up...

__________________

NEW YEAR'S CHALLENGE: 10 poundsStart: 207 (12/04)

"My weakness has always been food and men - in that order." Dolly Parton

Diva: I don't lose my weight easily either, but atkins gives me more than weight loss. I have stability with blood sugar and mood that no other way of eating (woe) does for me. I have lost weight, but 19 lbs over almost a year is not what most people call great weight loss. It is great for me because it is a general downward trend and there have been lots of non-scale victories (NSV) on the way. For instance, waist size. Did you measure yours before you started? Has it changed?
ALso, are you going to have your period soon? Most of us hold onto fluid before that and will have a drop afterward, so be patient. You may get a whoosh when you least expect it.
Good luck

__________________Fatmad
zen and the art of weight loss, finding the true path of en-lighten-ment

Thanks for the replies! I feel a lot better over the last few days. I was washing my hands and my pinky ring that my grandmother gave me slipped off my finger. It's normally pretty snug, but now it is so loose I don't think I am going to be able to wear it. SO YAY I must be losing. Forget the scale!!!